This disclosure relates to generating electromagnetic forces and supporting a body, at least in part, by a magnetic field.
Equipment and machinery often contain moving (e.g. rotating) members, which require support during operation. A bearing, or similar device, may be used to support the moving member. Although many types of bearings require direct contact with the member to provide the necessary support, some applications benefit from or require non-contact, or nearly non-contact support for the member. A magnetic bearing uses a magnetic field to apply force to, and thereby support, the moving member in a non-contact, or nearly non-contact, manner. The non-contact or nearly non-contact support provided by the magnetic bearing can provide frictionless or nearly frictionless movement of the member. Should a machine include a member with varying dimensions, the bearing used for support, regardless of its type, may require a custom design or additional construction considerations in order to assemble the machine with the bearing. Therefore, the manufacture of the machine utilizing such a magnetic bearing may be inefficient due to the unique bearing design.